Television - "You've never heard of Lawrence Welk?!"

Joanne and Vernon both grew up on farms, not far from Kirksville. They readily shared with me what life was like as a child - it involved a lot of work, from gardening and tending the animals to canning produce and cooking. There was also a fair amount of play; Joanne's favorite thing to do with her siblings was to create race tracks for their toy cars in the creek bed. Life did not, however, involve very much television. It was expensive for the time, and in fact, neither of their parents' households owned televisions until shortly before they were married, and they did not have one as a married couple until several years later. They both recalled that their parents hardly watched their televisions, although Joanne does remember her father rocking her son's bassinet while watching a show. At first, their television only had one channel, through antenna, and they think that was probably KTMO, which they used to watch Amateur Hour (I had to Google this - it was a talent show type program that brought fame to such stars as Frank Sinatra and Ann Margret). "Lawrence Welk came along there somewhere," Joanne said, and they both laughed. It soon became woefully apparent that I did not know who Lawrence Welk was, and they were reasonably shocked. Vernon explained Welk's career as a big band director to me and recreated his famous "a-one and a-two and a..." and they laughed some more. Of course, I later researched The Lawrence Welk Show and found a recording of the network premier:

 

among other clips and episodes. I found the show to be pleasant and entertaining enough, but it was truly a different time and I don't think this kind of show would find an audience these days, especially with the younger crowd.
We also talked about their experiences with television as parents. They felt that many kids these days spend too much time vegged out in front of the TV and not enough time outside getting dirty. While their kids had television growing up, they never felt that had to even talk about restricting access. Their children watched cartoons on Saturday mornings and occasionally after school, but that was all. Their favorite cartoons were Mickey Mouse, Looney Tunes, especially Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote, and Tom and Jerry. While I grew up with these shows and others, I know that my brother (who is seven) and his friends are not. In fact, many may view these cartoons as unsuitable for children due to their violence and lack of a moral or educational theme.
 
While we were on the subject of offensive material, I asked if they remembered the quiz show scandals. They barely remember them, which they think is probably due to growing up on farms, where they were somewhat isolated from modern society. They agreed the deception would have been very shocking to America, but, like television in general, it did not affect their lives very much.
Now, Joanne and Vernon have a TV set in their home, but they still rarely use it. They enjoy news shows and the occasional entertaining program, but it is certainly not a centerpiece in their living room or in their lives.